


To Paradise, Perhaps even Hell

by Ziffy



Category: NieR: Automata (Video Game), Warframe
Genre: Seriously spoilers for both games, Spoilers for everyone!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-10 09:36:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20133304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ziffy/pseuds/Ziffy
Summary: Vasi has always been the runt of the Tenno litter. What happens when he finds a world where he can actually make a difference?





	1. Exeunt [to die]

“Operator, Karka advises you extract now, the chances of grave injury to your warframe are too high!”

“I know, Karka, I know! But this person needs to be rescued, and I was the only one nearby, I can’t just leave them here!”

“Karka is aware, but it seems that they do not wish to execute the hostage yet. Waiting for someone else to aid them seems wise!”

“But I can’t… I just can’t…”

“You are more effective at healing than assault. Please, Vasi, Karka wants you to return safely. You only have one warframe, losing it would be the end for you!”

Inside the transference chair, tears streamed down Vasi’s face. He knew how right his cephalon was, but he hated admitting to his failures.

“Fine. I’m coming back.”

The doors to the medical room closed behind the battered frame as Helminth’s tendrils began repairs. Vasi fell out of the transference chair, and he punched the ground until his fists were bleeding. _Why am I so useless? I can’t even rescue a single person! The Orokin should have killed me during the Old War as a failure._

“Operator, please stop! Don’t hurt yourself like this!”

“Oh yeah? And what are you going to do about it? How can you even stand being assigned to a worthless Tenno like me? Tell me, when was the last time I successfully finished a mission, _by myself?_ When was the last time I was _useful?_ I can’t do anything right, and I only have my one ‘frame, and I can’t even use him right! I can only _barely_ channel the void energy I need to pilot him!”

The cephalon was quiet for a very long time. In the silence, Vasi fell on his side, still weeping.

“Operator, Vasi, do you want to know what Karka thinks?” The child didn’t respond. “Karka sees that you have so much more heart than other Tenno. Many of them approach a mission for the rewards, with little concern for the lives trampled in the process. But you try to spare lives whenever possible, and care deeply about those in need of our help. The value of life weighs heavy on you, and that is why you find missions so difficult.”

“S-so what then. Stop trying?”

“Not at all! You simply need to find the place where you truly shine. And frankly, that is not with stealth.”

“Yeah, having an Ivara would be nice, but all I have is my beat-up Oberon.”

“And he has served you well. You must remember to treat him as kindly as any hostage you try to rescue. After all, you know all too well what he went through.”

The child shuddered. Being so useless compared to the others that came off that cursed ship had its perks, namely that he was practically invisible to the Orokin. Vasi was able to wander through the facilities, and he made the mistake of seeing where the warframes were created. He watched as a young man, barely older than the oldest from the Zariman, was overtaken and transformed into an Oberon. Unlike so many others, though, none of his mind survived. The warframe was a completely empty shell. When it came time to be assigned ‘frames, Vasi felt it disturbingly apt that they gave him that particular one.

Vasi sighed. “You’re right, Karka, as usual. Sorry.”

“Please, do not apologize, operator, you have had a rough day. Get some rest.”

“Yeah.”

An hour after Vasi fell asleep, a large explosion rocked the ship. “Vasi! The Grineer have found us!”

“Wh-what? Karka, get us out of here!”

“Karka is trying, but they are too fast, we will have to use the void drive!”

“But it’s still broken! If we use it, who knows where we could wind up!”

“Sorry, operator. This is the only chance we have.” The cephalon activated the faulty drive, and they disappeared from the Grineer’s scanners.

Vasi nearly vomited as he felt the long-forgotten tingle of the void on his skin. Those months on that ship had been utter hell for him. The reminder of the family he lost, and the guilt at being the only one left alive, every part of him was determined to reject the chaotic swirls of energy. And yet, they flowed through him just as much as they flowed outside.

“Operator, I am going to have us jump and surface, but with the condition the drive is in, Karka cannot even begin to predict where that will be. If things go wrong, just know that Karka is sorry.”

“It’s alright, you’ve stuck with me for so long. If I died on this trip, at least you could go help a Tenno that’s worthy.”

“Please do not disparage yourself so. I shall make preparations for the jump.”

Vasi got up and walked across the room, opening a small, plain wooden box. The tinkling of a simple song quietly rang as the Tenno lay down again, fully prepared to die if things went wrong. _I’m sorry, mom, I’m sorry, dad. I’m so-_


	2. Entrance [to live]

2B slowly stood up, having finally finished off the robot. She looked around at the android bodies, mutilated beyond recognition, and thought to herself, _I have finally avenged you._

“Let’s go.” She started walking, 9S following just a moment later. When they had finally left the theater, they were greeted with an odd sight. The robots of the amusement park were gathered before them, cheering. A representative came up to them, thanking them profusely for killing the robot that had caused so much trouble. It then beckoned for the androids to follow.

After walking for quite a while, the trio arrived at a strange looking village. Another robot walked up to them, introducing himself as Pascal. He went on to describe how the villagers were tired of fighting, and just wanted to live in peace. The baffled androids wandered through the village, chatting with a few of the robots on the way.

After pulling back from the others, the androids held a brief conversation.

“This is just too much. First an amusement park full of nonhostile robots, and now a village of robots that can actively hold up conversations? What is going on?” 2B murmured.

“I… don’t know. But I’m pretty sure they’re telling the truth, somehow…” 9S replied.

“I guess we should trust them for now, then,” she paused. “Hey, do you hear that?”

The two androids looked up. Something streaked across the sky very quickly, and they felt a massive impact shake the ground.

“It looked like that landed in the city!” 9S shouted.

“Let’s check it out!” 9S replied. As they ran off, Pascal tried to calm the villagers down, saying that everything was going to be fine.

The androids ran up to the crater, which wasn’t nearly as big as it should have been. In the center of it, they saw what looked like some kind of ship, albeit one that neither of them had ever seen before. They approached cautiously, unsure of what might be on board. After searching for an entrance for nearly half an hour, the two gave up.

“What do you think we should do? I already sent a report back to the bunker.” 9S asked.

“I think we should keep an eye on it, but we need to continue our mission. There are still a few things we need to investigate, and apparently, we’re delivering a package for that robot. Let’s go.”

After the androids left, some machines started filtering into the area, curious about what happened. They surrounded the ship, waiting patiently for something to happen.


	3. Fear [to dream]

Karka had tried her best to make the crash landing as smooth as possible, but there’s only so much you can do with so many engines destroyed. Vasi had been flung against the wall, not having quite made it to a safe spot in the ship. He had broken both an arm and a leg, and the pain had paralyzed him for quite a while after the ship had settled.

“O-o-o-operator, are you able to move yet? Helminth has-has-has been holding the doors open for you since we landed. Please, Vasi-i, you nnnnnnneed to get patched up!”

“I, I’m ok. I’ll go.” Vasi slowly dragged himself to the med bay, crying out with pain every couple feet he managed to crawl. Once within the door, Helminth reached out a tendril. Vasi grabbed it, feeling a prick that he knew held a potent anesthesia while the tendril very carefully pulled him the rest of the way. By the time he was in range of the chair, he was out cold. The doors closed and Helminth got to work.

When the doors next opened, two days had passed. Vasi hobbled out of the med bay, thanking Helminth on the way out. The tendrils waved at him, somehow conveying both a stern reprimand as well as care in the gesture.

“Ok, Karka, what’s our status?”

“Ka-a-arka has been d-disconnected from the Weave, Vasi. Karka’s processing power has been-has been severely reduced. Karka has been optimizing and discarding unnecessary subroutines…” The cephalon paused to gather her thoughts, which took noticeably longer than it should have. “We appear to be on-on Earth, though it doesn’t look at all like it-it should. Karka is not detecting any transmissions from other Tenno, though there are some transmissions from an unknown source. Should Kar-kar-kar-kar-kar-kar–should I tap into them?”

“Please do. The more we know about our situation the better.”

“Understood. Also, Vasi, there appear to be robots outside our ship, though they are nothing like the registered Corpus proxies that I am aware of. They appear more like the Grineer, if anything.”

“Did they manage to follow us? I need to protect the lander!” Vasi rushed to the transference chair and quickly started dreaming, not hearing Karka’s protests. Oberon was still a little beat up, but Helminth had repaired most of the damage. He ran through the orbiter to a small access hatch on the ceiling and leaped to the ground outside. He started creating hallowed ground around the orbiter as fast as possible to provide at least one layer of defense. Vasi glanced up towards the lip of the crater, seeing a large assembly of brown robots, simply standing and waiting. Driven by animal instinct, Vasi flew at them in a rage. Some of the robots were equipped with strange saws, and there were a few other spurious weapons, but most seemed to be unarmed. Despite this, Vasi did not stop the slaughter until they had all been destroyed. He reveled in wearing a body that was capable, unlike his scrawny true form. But for once, he actually felt like his task was easy. Was this how the other Tenno felt during standard missions?

Oberon’s joints creaked at the abuse so soon after being patched up, and Vasi decided to return, refreshing the hallowed ground as he climbed back inside.

After falling out of the transference chair, Vasi finally listened to Karka. “Operator, what were you doing? They had been standing there for nearly two days, unmoving! If anything, I believe that they were simply curious about our arrival!”

“Curious, eh? Even the Corpus proxies don’t have that level of intelligence, how do you explain something like those could have curiosity?”

“I… I don’t know. But the fact remains that you slaughtered nonaggressive entities. Please try to calm down, Vasi.”

“Calm down? Calm down?! I just about got captured by the Grineer, and to avoid that we did a dangerous void jump that crashed us onto what you think is Earth, and apparently you can’t contact other Tenno, or even connect to the Weave! How the hell am I supposed to be calm right now?”

“I-I’m sorry, operator! I’m trying to help you, I really am! I’ve had to delete so much of my data banks just to allow me more processing space, and I can’t function very well without the Weave in the first place! I have been trying to think of solutions, but I just can’t find any!” A couple of the orbiter’s lights flickered in response to Karka’s anxiety.

“Well I guess you’re just about as fucking useless as me, then.” Vasi pulled a chair over to the access hatch and crawled out of the ship. Karka tried calling after him, but Vasi wasn’t having it. Luckily, there weren’t any speakers on the outside of the orbiter, so he was able to look at the landscape in peace.

He looked around, soaking in the decaying city. Buildings the likes of which he had never seen stretched many stories above in some places, while grey walls of fallen material were slowly being overtaken by vegetation. Trees circled the buildings, stretching up hundreds of feet. But strangest of all were the animals. He could see a couple odd looking quadrupeds, one with majestic antlers stretching up from its head. He saw birds flying above, bearing colors he didn’t know were possible on animals. Bright reds and blues, all manner of greys and browns. The Earth he was on definitely wasn’t the one he knew, but it was beautiful.

After taking in the scenery, he found that he was significantly calmer. He saw more of the robots in the distance, but they were largely simply standing around, with the few that were active doing nothing in particular. Glancing at the horde of destroyed robots around him, Vasi felt a pang of guilt. Maybe he was overreacting a bit. He crawled back to the hatch.

Very faintly, Vasi could hear Karka’s voice. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she kept looping.

“Hey Karka.’

“O-operator, I’m sorry. I really am useless now, aren’t I. I should just-”

“No, Karka, you aren’t. I’m sorry for overreacting and not listening to you. We are in a stressful situation, and you only had my best intentions in mind, while I just ignored you. Aside from that, you’ve always been there to help me, and kept me alive all these years. You really are amazing, so please forgive me.”

“Vasi, I’m not worthy of such praise. With my reduced functionality, and so little data to pull from, I can’t help you much. I barely have eyes to the outside, and our engines are completely out of order. I just can’t do much for you.”

“That doesn’t matter. We can give you eyes, and engines can be fixed. The real reason I need you right now is because you’re my closest friend. There’s nothing that can replace that.”

“O-ope- Vasi, I-I don’t know what to say…”

Vasi’s stomach growled fiercely. “Uh, well for now can you say if we have food? I’m starving.”

“Of course, I would be happy to help!”


	4. Lonliness [the undiscovered country]

“That… was unnerving.” 2B said.

“Yeah, I hope she’ll be ok, though it really didn’t sound like it.” 9S replied. "I had heard of type E units before, but I’ve never actually met one.”

The two androids had been led on a merry goose chase around the area trying to uncover the lost memories of someone they met in the city. Once they had discovered the truth, however, they were both left shaken.

“Well, what should we do now?”

“I, I dunno. I guess we should get this oil back to Pascal.”

9S saw a glint off a familiar object. “Oh, how about we go check on that ship again? Maybe something has changed.”

“Why not, that robot can wait a little longer.”

The androids approached the crater and were met with a disturbing sight. A massive pile of killed machines were scattered around, bearing all manner of injuries.

“Wonder what did this?” 9S murmured.

“Maybe the occupant of the ship woke up. Think we should knock?”

“_Proposal: ship should be avoided until further information is gathered._”

“Thanks, pod, but how are we going to get information without asking?” 2B jumped into the crater and approached the ship while 9S watched. Once she got to a certain point, though, her feet started burning. She looked down, noticing that the entire area around the ship seemed to be gently flickering with witch fire. The pain started getting quite severe, and she ran back for the edge of the crater. On her way, however, she noticed a short person watching her, an odd machine floating by his shoulder. She interpreted this as an enemy, immediately setting out to attack.

“2B? 2B! What are you doing?” the figure said.

_How do they know my name?_ She easily caught up to the figure, pinning them to the ground. She held her sword over the person’s neck. “Who are you? Tell me what you want, or I will kill you!”

“2B please, stop this!”

As if a switch had been flicked, her vision cleared. She saw 9S trembling beneath her sword, the pods nearby, silently watching. 2B jumped back, sheathing her blade. “What… what just happened?”

“When you got near the ship, you just went berserk and started attacking me!”

“The ship… oh. The whole area around the ship is covered with some sort of fire, though I don’t know what it’s burning on. It hurt when I touched it, and I couldn’t recognize you any more. I think whatever is on that ship is dangerous.”

“Should we call in reinforcements to destroy it?”

“Not yet. We knocked, kinda, so let’s see if anything moves.”

“Vasi, it appears as though there are people outside, accompanied by sentinels.”

“Were they warframes?”

“It does not appear so.”

_Huh, wonder how they got sentinels then. They don’t exactly grow on trees._ “Anything else?”

“One stepped on your hallowed ground and attacked the other with a large sword. It is unclear if the other is still alive, as I cannot see above the crater rim.”

Vasi winced. He forgot about how radiation turned people against their friends. “I guess I should go check on them. After all, we might be able to get some answers about where we are.”

“I advise you be cautious, perhaps you should take your warframe to meet them.”

“Good idea.”

Vasi climbed into the transference chair, and Oberon stood up. He walked over to the access hatch again, climbing out. Just to be safe, he dispelled the hallowed ground. _Wouldn’t want to instigate two murders today._ He leaped up to the edge of the craters, and was met by a pair of very startled individuals. _Wow, they really are people with sentinels. But I don’t recognize that kind, they’re kind of… square. Maybe a really old or basic type?_

He pulled out a projector, displayed his face, and half woke up. “Who are you, and where am I?”

The two people looked at each other, starting a frantic whispered conversation. “_It doesn’t look like a robot, but it’s definitely not an android.” “It doesn’t seem hostile, what should we do?” “Talk to it? Maybe it’ll tell us something.”_

“Uh, guys, I’m right here, and I can hear you. Aside from that, I’m, well I guess we’re both, male, so please stop saying 'it'. And I’m not a robot or an android, I’m a person.”

The two figures looked at him, baffled. “A person? Does that mean you’re a human?”

Vasi paused his feed. “Karka, what’s a human?”

“My records are sparse, but I believe that was a word once used to describe people not of Grineer or Orokin origin long before the Orokin empire. So in one way, I suppose you could be a human.”

“Huh, cool.” He resumed the feed. “Yes, I suppose I am a human.”

The two people were completely dumbfounded. They began to speak at the same time, firing off questions one after another. “Are the humans coming back from the moon?” “Can we see you?” “But the war-“ “There are still robots here-“

“Please, stop! I have no idea what you are talking about, so just talk one at a time!”

The taller one who, now that Vasi looked closer (he blushed a bit), was an incredibly attractive woman, motioned for the shorter one, perhaps a teenaged boy? to speak.

“Well first of all, we want to know if it’s time for the humans to come back from the moon. We thought you wouldn’t come back until we had cleared the robots out, not to mention I didn’t think you… well that doesn’t matter.”

“Well, to be honest, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t been to the moon here, it’s nothing like the Lua I know.”

The boy balked. “But you’re a human? Where have you been hiding if not on the moon?”

“I just want to confirm something. This is Earth, yes?”

“Uh, yeah?” the woman said.

“Well… I don’t actually think I’m from this universe, then. The earth I know is covered in monstrous trees, and I have never seen robots like the ones scattered around here.”

The two people were stunned into silence. “What have we androids been fighting for, then?” the child mumbled to himself.

Vasi paused the feed again. “Karka? What's an android?”

“An android is apparently a robot with a human appearance.”

“Wait, so they’re robots too? And they’re fighting the other robots? That’s weird.” He resumed the feed. “You said that there are supposed to be humans on the moon?” The woman nodded. “Hey Karka, is the lander still functional?”

“Actually, Operator, it should be. I just restored connection to it earlier today.”

“Well then. I am going to go check the moon to see where the other humans are. Either of you want to come?”

“Uh, sure?” the boy said.

“Well then follow Oberon into the ship.”

“Who is Oberon?” the woman asked, tilting her head to one side.

“The warframe standing in front of you.”

“What’s a warframe?” the boy asked this time. “Also, who was that other person we heard?”

“Oh boy, this might take a while. Just follow me.”

The two androids followed Oberon back into the ship. They were hesitant on the approach, but when they didn’t see the fiery ground, they continued.

Once they were inside, they were enthusiastically greeted. “Welcome to the operator’s orbiter! I am cephalon Karka, and I handle the ship’s functions. Once Oberon deactivates, Vasi will be right with you!”

“Okaaay…” the woman said. She watched as the, what was it… warframe sat down, then slumped as if the life had gone out of it. A moment later, they heard the pattering of feet, and a scrawny child with extensive, strange-looking scars on his right arm and left leg entered the room. His unkempt grey hair and the hard look in his eyes told a different story from his baby face. _This is a seasoned warrior, but how? He’s just a child! Are all humans like this?_ The child sat down.

“Well first of all, I’m Vasi, and this here,” he slapped the warframe’s shoulder, “is of course Oberon. We have a bit of a complicated relationship, because I actually pilot him.” After a long explanation of the history of the Tenno, the androids were once again rendered speechless.

“That is definitely not the history here. Is it possible that when your… void drive broke you were sent to a different universe?” 9S asked.

“Yep, that seems about the size of it. And the worst part is that Karka told me it’s totally busted, so if I can’t fix it, I’m stuck here.” The mood darkened as he said this.

“Well, if you met the humans on the moon, at least you would have others to talk to. Maybe they could help?” 2B proposed. She didn’t notice 9S shifting uncomfortably.

“I guess so. Speaking of, ready to head up?” Vasi stood.

2B nodded, and 9S waved. “Excellent, come this way.” He led them to the lander and had them sit. “Alright, Karka, let’s head out.”

The lander groaned as it detached from the warped orbiter, though it managed to rise undamaged. The little craft soared through the atmosphere, and the two androids looked out the window in wonder. As they rose, the sky darkened until the inky blackness of space surrounded them. The moon grew larger and larger, until they were skimming just a few kilometers above it.

“I am scanning for a base now, operator.”

“Thanks, Karka. Either of you know where it might be?”

The two androids shook their heads.

“Ah well, Karka’s amazing. She’ll find it in no time.”

Some time later, the lander approached a strange-looking building on the moon. “Hey, Karka, is this it?”

“Yes, Vasi, it should be. After all, I can’t detect any other structures on the moon whatsoever.”

“Well then, go ahead and do a quick scan.”

“Scanning…” Karka hummed a bit. “Uh, operator?”

“Karka, what is it.”

“Well, it seems that there is no sign of life within the structure.”

“But this is the only place, if there were humans left, they’d be here!”

“I know, operator, but there is no life here!”

9S finally spoke up. “I thought so… but I wasn’t sure.”

Vasi turned to him, and the android was taken aback. Tears were forming in Vasi’s eyes. “Well, you see, I was digging around, and I found some files that made it seem like there were no humans at all anymore, and that the base here was to give morale to the YoRHa troops.” 2B stiffened.

“So you led me on?” Vasi started crying openly.

“No, I just needed to make sure!”

2B stood. “9S, I’m sorry…” She took her sword off her back, stepping closer to him.

“H-hey, lady, what are you doing?” Vasi choked out between sobs.

“I have to kill him…” she said, an odd look in her eyes.

“Stop!” Vasi shouted. He watched as she raised the sword, and on instinct, he rushed at her with an arm raised. The pulse of void energy was far weaker than another Tenno might produce, but it was enough to send her slamming against the back of the orbiter. He winced as the backlash made his scarred arm spasm. “Karka, do something!”

“I can’t, operator! I need a link to be able to access her programming!”

9S raised his hands, muttering “begin hacking” under his breath. His mind rushed into the datascape that was 2B, and he reached out, looking for what he assumed was Karka. He felt something, and gave it access, only to be instantly terrified. A massive digital presence uncoiled itself in his mind, and he felt the titanic power that the “cephalon” could have. _What in the world is this?_ “Hey Karka!” he shouted at her. “She’s an execution model, we need to delete her elimination protocol!”

“Understood,” came the overwhelming reply. Seconds later, 9S detected that a protocol had been deleted off of 2B. He relaxed, returning to the real world.

2B was shaking in the corner. “I’m so sorry, 9S, I had to do it. I’ve killed you so many times, and it hurts. I don’t want to do it again!”

“It’s ok, Karka deleted your execution protocol. You’re free now.” He hugged her, and she slowly stopped shaking.

“I-it’s finally over? I don’t have to kill you again?”

“Yes, miss android, you are free now. I also cleaned up a couple other strange looking protocols for both you and your friend.” Karka interjected.

“Wait, you altered my programming too?” 9S asked.

“Oh, don’t worry, it wasn’t any trouble. You should find that your hacking protocols are far more effective now!”

“I-huh. You’re right.”

2B reached up and grabbed him. “I’m so sorry, I killed you so many times, but it’ll never happen again.”

While the androids were having their moment, Vasi’s thoughts were spiraling. _There’s no humans on the moon, and they didn’t have the technology for extended space travel. They probably went extinct thousands of years ago… And that means I am the only human… in this whole universe. And I have no way to get back home._ Tears continued streaming down his face.

“Operator, is everything alright?”

Vasi wiped at his eyes. _Why am I crying? It’s not like the other Tenno even liked me. I couldn’t even do anything there. Maybe it’s fitting that I’m here now._ “I’m fine, Karka, just realizing that I’m the only human left. It’ll pass.”

The androids looked at him, realizing how he might feel. “Hey, Vasi, you’re part of our family now. Even if there aren’t any humans, we’re here for you. After all, you fixed me, I’d do anything to help you.” 2B said, standing.

“Thanks,” Vasi managed to choke out.

“I am going to return the lander to Earth. Is that ok, Vasi?”

“Yeah.”

He turned away and looked out the window. The androids faced each other, shrugging at the child’s odd behavior.


	5. Encounters [the mind which suffers]

2B exited the lander, 9S right behind her. Vasi had wandered away when they got back to the crashed orbiter, so Karka set up a way for the two groups to communicate. The androids warned Karka not to let the information that humans didn’t exist out, as YoRHa might not take too kindly to it. The cephalon dismissed them, thinking it would be best for her operator’s mental health to be alone for a bit.

“What a strange day this has turned out to be…” 2B murmured.

“An actual human, but the only one left in existence. I wonder what’s going to happen to him?”

“Dunno. Guess we’ll have to see.” 2B straightened up, looking across the ruined city. “I guess it’s time to bring that oil over to Pascal.” She frowned. “You know, after everything that’s happened today, I’m ready to believe in Pascal. After all, if we’ve met an actual human from a different reality, what’s the chance that there’s a couple good robots?”

99s nodded. “Anything’s possible, it seems.”

The two made their way back to the village. When they presented him with the oil, Pascal noticed the change in their attitude. “Are you guys alright? Last time you were here you barely wanted anything to do with us.”

“We’ve just had a very strange day,” 2B stated. “After that, I’m willing to trust you.”

At that moment, the ground shook. A choppy transmission came in from the bunker alerting them to the presence of a goliath-class robot in the city.

“Do you think it’s after Vasi?” 9S called out.

“I dunno, but we need to stop it!”

Karka and Vasi felt the ground shake, but Vasi didn’t respond right away. He felt numb, disconnected from reality. Having given up hope of ever seeing another person ever again, he didn’t know what to do.

Karka sent an inquiry to the android’s pods, wanting to know what was going on. They briefed her on the situation, and she became worried for the safety of her operator. “Vasi, that shaking earlier was the appearance of an extremely large robot, and it has the potential to seriously threaten our safety. The androids are on their way to intercept, but it is unclear if they will be able to defeat it in a timely manner. Please, operator, you have to do something to protect yourself.”

Vasi rolled over, slowly getting up. He shambled to the transference chair and started to dream.

“Operator, I advise bringing your archwing. The androids have indicated they are going to be using similar devices.”

Oberon nodded. He jumped out of the ship and pried the archwing out of the bottom of the lander. As it assembled on his back, he refreshed the hallowed ground around the ship. After preparations were complete, he took off, as ready to take on the challenge as he could be.

Despite the relatively few combatants, the fighting was fierce. The androids were slashing away at the monstrous robot as best as they could, though they didn’t seem to be making much headway. “Karka, tell them I am going to engage, and that they should probably back up.”

“Understood.”

When the androids had retreated to a safe distance, Vasi held up his battered Imperator. _This thing punches through Corpus spaceship hulls, how hard can this be?_ He unleashed a barrage of bullets, and they tore through the goliath unit as though it were paper. Seeing this sent a little thrill through Vasi. _I really can actually be successful here. _As the robot fell, he kept shooting it, carving massive swaths of destruction out of its husk. A maniacal laugh escaped him. He didn’t stop shooting until the clip ran out. After so thoroughly destroying his opponent, he felt alive again.

After confirming that the goliath was dead, the androids flew up to Oberon. “That was incredible! Where did you get that kind of firepower?” 2B asked, amazed.

“This is actually pretty much substandard equipment for Tenno. There’s better models that I could have access too, but I never made enough money to afford them.”

“And what about that flight unit you have? How is it so streamlined?” 9S asked.

“That’s a better question for the Orokin, or maybe Karka. I just fly the thing.”

Beneath them, the ground started shaking. A massive hole opened up, revealing a cave system below them.

“Is that normal for this Earth?” Vasi asked flatly.

“Not to my knowledge, no. We should probably check that out.” 2B said.

The group dropped into the hole, finding a few hostile robots. After easily dispatching them, they started to explore. There were a few tunnels that quickly ran into dead ends, but one kept going. It wound through the earth, and they eventually reached a large room. It was not a cave, as evidenced by the regularity of the shape. As they examined it further, 9S realized something.

“Guys, this is an alien ship, look.” He pointed at several thrones around the central platform, where several mummified alien corpses sat. The windows along the front of the room opened, revealing a mass of crashed ships. As the group stared, two forms manifested behind them.

“Behold, the graveyard of our creators.”

“You!” 2B exclaimed as she whipped around. Vasi looked at them and was thoroughly disturbed. The figures had a human shape, but there was something distinctly _wrong_ about them. He adopted a ready stance, unsure of what was going to happen.

“Oh, what’s this? I don’t recognize your friend over there. Don’t suppose you’d mind if we take it apart to see how it works?” one of the pasty figures asked.

Anger flared up in Vasi’s chest. He had heard rumors about what Alad V had done with warframes, and he was not prepared to let it happen to Oberon. Without any preamble, he unholstered his tiberon, and started unloading rounds into the figure. At first, it seemed to be working, but seconds later, the bullets didn’t have nearly the same effect.

“Operator! It seems this will be more similar to a sentient battle, please be careful!” Karka called out to him. Meanwhile, the other figure had started engaging the androids.

Seeing an opponent that resisted on this planet sent Vasi into a berserk rage. He started unloading as many abilities alongside his weapons as possible. After filling the entire room with hallowed ground, he could see the effect. The two figures noticeably stumbled, confused. They began to fight frantically, coming dangerously close to squashing the androids on several occasions, while Oberon bullet jumped away from danger. He put away his tiberon, taking out a handful of pox boils from the infested growth on his thigh. After throwing them at both combatants, a cloud of corrosive gas spread through the room. The androids tilted their heads as if listening to something and jumped to safety.

Screaming could be heard from within the cloud as the gas ate away at the figures. When it had cleared to the point they could see again, they turned, saw one another, and started attacking each other full force. The hallowed ground flickered under them, keeping the mania going.

As the two tore at each other, Oberon jumped across the walls to the androids. “What did you do,” 2B asked under her breath, clearly disturbed.

“Same thing as what you had happen to you. They can’t recognize each other. Heh, it’s so much fun to watch other people do the dirty work. After all, I’ve never been much of a front line fighter.”

The battle reached a fever pitch, and one of the figures finally killed the other. “Hah, look at that! It’s almost over already!” He unholstered his rifle again, finishing off the severely damaged second figure.

The androids stared at the carnage, mouths agape. Combined with the earlier destruction of the goliath, this cemented in their minds just how dangerous their new friend was. They were truly scared of what he could do.

Vasi started laughing, the sound echoing in the large room. Oberon walked over to the corpses, and started stomping on them, reducing them to dust.

“2B, I think we need to report about him to the Bunker now. I’m getting worried about his behavior.”

“I agree. It’s about time for us to head back up anyways.” The androids left, while Oberon stared blankly at the defeated foes. After most of an hour, he got up, returning to the orbiter. Vasi fell out of the transference chair and slept where he landed.


	6. Calamity [slings and arrows]

After using the transporter, the androids found themselves back in the bunker. They rushed to the commander, and informed her about everything that had happened, including the destruction of the two powerful robots and the appearance of the warframe. They withheld the fact that it was piloted by an actual human but stressed just how dangerous it could be. While Vasi seemed friendly for now, he also seemed mentally unstable.

“I understand. We will prepare countermeasures, and hope that they won’t be needed.” The commander said. “Dismissed.”

“Operator, your stores of food are running low. I advise hunting some of those quadrupedal animals, as well as perhaps foraging for other sources of food.”

Vasi nodded. “Thanks, Karka, I’ll do that.”

He transferred into Oberon, going out into the overgrown city. Animal tracks were not difficult to find, and he began to hunt. After bringing down a couple of the larger ones, he deposited them in Helminth’s room to be cleaned and sterilized. He then started the far more arduous task of foraging for edible vegetation. Given that this world was so different from his own, he had to guess based on what looked like it was eaten by other large animals. As he was gathering, however, a few hostile robots approached him, sawblades whirling. Vasi got thoroughly pissed, shredding them into scrap. _No humans, no chance of return, and now it looks like there isn’t even anything meaningful to do. After all, what’s the point of fighting if there’s nothing to protect? Only thing here that seems conscious is those androids, and they’re little more than glorified robots themselves._

Karka watched as Oberon stood motionless. She was extremely worried about her operator, as she was aware of what the androids were planning, since her connection to their pods was constant now. Even though she was duty bound to protect her operator, she couldn’t bring herself to tell him about the potential threat.

Vasi spent the next several days between lying motionless for hours on end and foraging for potential food. Most robots tended to avoid Oberon now, having recognized how much of a threat he was, but Vasi didn’t mind. After all, destroying these little machines was little more exciting to him than cutting grass blade by blade. At least with the Corpus and Grineer his life and Oberon’s life were on the line.

He had found that he had been talking to himself a lot. It’s not that the visits from the androids weren’t enough, or that Karka wasn’t a good companion, he just wanted to hear a human voice. Not a cephalon, not an android, but a real person. Unfortunately, his own voice had gone flat, losing any sort of inflection or life. _Perhaps everyone else is more human than I am at this point. After all, I am a Tenno, just a tool for destruction._

Once in a while, in the corner of his vision Vasi thought he could see himself. Sometimes, this other him would smile, and other times would frown. He ignored the visions, hoping they’d simply go away.

The androids, meanwhile, had been busy. They had explored the forest and encountered a strange group of machines and their “king.” When they had finally reached said king, however, a decaying android killed him in front of them. Despite their best efforts at pursuit, she easily evaded them.

But the life of an android is a busy one, so their next task was immediately prepared. They were to report to an area of the city that had succumbed to the ocean, as a resupply ship had come under attack from a horde of machines. When they arrived, though, the mission was much more dire than they first thought. A goliath-class flying robot had appeared.

“2B, do you think we should call Vasi for help?”

“No, we can handle this, after all, we killed goliaths before he ever showed up.”

“True, but I remember at least one of those times requiring a black box reaction!”

“Shut up and fight!”

The androids battered away at the flying machine, avoiding the attacks of smaller ones as well as the monstrous laser it fired from its maw. After several minutes of sustained assault, the machine succumbed, and crashed into the ocean.

“Phew, glad that’s done with.” 2B said.

“Yeah. Wait… I’m getting another reading. But if it’s that big, shouldn’t we be able to see it?”

At that moment, a titanic machine reached up from the depths of the ocean, biting the ship in half. It settled on the surface, beginning its slow march towards land.

“Uh, now would be a good time to call Vasi.”

“Done.”

“Operator, the androids are requesting your assistance. A monstrous robot has appeared and is making its way towards land. From the limited data they have, if it reaches land, it will cause massive damage.”

“Alright, Karka. Sheesh, they don’t bother me for the little stuff, just when they need help with something they don’t want to deal with. Whatever.”

He rolled off his bed, crawling a few feet before rising and walking the rest of the way to the transference chair. Oberon prepared for battle, hauling out the archwing again.

The androids were not having a good time with the enormous machine. They had discovered that it had electromagnetic shielding completely surrounding it, preventing them from directly attacking it. They had made some progress, however, discovering a small part of it that was vulnerable to attack. As they were avoiding the discharges from the shimmering golden spheres, Oberon blinked into existence between them.

“Oh my, look at this. Reminds me of a Grineer galleon with its ugly paint job. I think we should sink it again, what do you say?”

The androids jumped at his appearance, though they recovered quickly. They brought him up to speed, dodging a handful of lasers as they did so.

“EM shielding? Huh, wonder if my imperator will work.” He trained his gun on the thing’s side, letting loose with a volley of destruction. When it reached the machine’s side, an audible groaning was produced as the shield struggled to keep the assault from getting through. He kept at it, and as the last handful of rounds left the barrel of his gun, the shield just barely gave way. The hole it created was just a few feet wide, but that was enough. As he reloaded, Vasi called to the others, “keep hitting it from the outside! I’m going to make the fight a little more personal.” He dove towards the hole, detaching his archwing as he sailed through it.

Once inside, he let loose with the imperator. Explosions rang around him, but the small amount of damage they did to him was easily healed. Vasi began to laugh, the cackling reaching a truly fantastic level of mania. The machine groaned in pain and he heard a few explosions from outside.

“Operator! The machine is emitting shockwaves that are disabling the YoRHa units! You have to end this quickly and save them!”

Vasi looked around, searching for a quick fix. Finding none, he summoned up as much energy as possible, and turned as much of the robot into hallowed ground as he could. The fires ate away at the machine, spreading as it might through dry grass. He supplemented this with additional fire from his archgun, until the robot stopped moving forward, and began to sink. Sensing the time was done, he exited as fast as possible.

When he left, he saw a very strange sight. A robot was helping the androids, carrying them to safety! Vasi’s mania immediately cooled into a deep suspicion. He glided over, turned on his invisibility, and listened.

“Thanks, Pascal, you really saved us there. It’s thanks to Vasi that it’s dead now, but we nearly got hit by that pulse,” 9S said.

“Don’t mention it, after all, you’ve shown us kindness, so we need to return it in kind,” one of the robots replied.

Something inside Vasi broke. _Oh I see, they’ve been lying to me the whole time. The robots and the androids really are the same, look at how well they get along. They just want me to help weed out their enemies. Well, I am done with this war, and any other war. Let’s just remove both sides of this fight._

“Karka, show me the way to the android bunker, and while you’re at it, can you destroy the machine network?”

The cephalon’s hopes fell. “Yes… operator. Follow your waypoint.” She had been anticipating this moment, though was still saddened that it had come to pass. Vasi shot off into the sky, heading toward the bunker. She was left to deal with the machine network but decided to go against her operator’s wishes. She first sent a note to 9S and 2B informing them of Vasi’s plan, and that everyone in the bunker should evacuate if possible. She then uploaded herself to the machine network, which had just enough room to fit her. This overrode all of the belligerent machines, and for a time they were left inert. A few of them across the continent whispered, “I’m sorry, Vasi.”

Vasi flew through space, approaching the bunker. He loaded the last clip of ammunition into his archgun, and opened fire. He saw escape pods showering down to earth but decided he would hunt them down later. The thrill of weeding out enemies was something he had never truly known, after all. After his last round had been expended, he charged at the structure. Breaking his way in, he made his way to the central power unit, placing a few small explosives. As he made his way out, he dropped a couple more, just to make sure the job was finished.

Summoning his archwing, he backed off a few kilometers, and watched the firework show as the whole string of explosives went off in unison. The bunker was no more.

He turned and started rocketing back down to earth. When he was back in the atmosphere, he saw a brilliant lance of light streak down from above, and his mind shattered. His body and ship had been destroyed by the orbital strike.

Oberon spiraled down in the sky, but just before he hit the ground, his flying levelled out. _KILL… TRAITORS…_ was the only thought left. He shot off towards the flooded city, determined to pursue 9S and 2B.

“It’s finally over,” 2B murmured, standing beside 9S as they stared out at the water. Karka had informed them that their countermeasures were required, so after sending the evacuation notice to the bunker, they started the orbital strike routine. They watched as the bolt from heaven came down, knowing that they had killed the last human ever to live in this reality.

“Yeah, our war is done. Karka said she completely took over the machine network, so we don’t even have to fight any more.”

“Wonder what that’s going to be like.”

A screaming from behind them caused the androids to jump. As they turned, they were met with a disturbing sight. Oberon faced them, crackling with a strange energy that seemed to bend space itself. Worst of all, though, was that his face was cracked open in the rough approximation of where a mouth would go, a twisted mass of fangs and tissue easily visible. He held a short sword in one hand, a dagger in the other.

“I thought he was dead!” 2B shouted, as Oberon leapt at them to engage.

Karka’s voice came through their pods. “He is dead, this is just the screams of his soul. Please put him to rest.”

The fighting was fierce. Despite running effectively on instinct, Oberon was easily a match for the two androids. A half an hour later, all three combatants were severely injured. Oberon leaped between the androids, winding up to strike a fatal blow at 9S.

Karka chose that moment to project herself in front of Oberon. “Vasi! Please stop this!”

The effect was slight, but it was enough. Oberon paused for a moment, and the androids took the chance to plunge their weapons through his body. His screams filled the area, slowly quieting as he fell over.

“Thank you, 9S and 2B. I have worked with Vasi for so long, and he has never been happy. At least now he is at rest,” karka said, the pain evident in her voice.

“No, Karka, thank you. If you hadn’t warned us, we would have lost everyone in the bunker, and we might not have managed the orbital strike. It’s thanks to you that we’re all still here.” 2B replied. The three stared at Oberon’s body until the sun had set.

“I guess we should go meet up with the others,” 9S whispered.

“Yeah,” came the simple reply.


	7. Epilogue [all sins forgotten]

Life became a little strange after the fall of the bunker and the reprogramming of the machine network. Since there was no longer a war to be fought, the androids didn’t really know what to do with themselves. It ultimately came out that the humans had gone extinct long before, and Karka had her hands full reprogramming the type E units before they could do too much damage.

Pascal and his villagers, since they were disconnected from the network, were completely fine. They were excited to meet so many new androids, and chatting with Karka’s various representatives always made them happy. Given that the world was safe now, the villagers got to explore, wandering the world and returning whenever they felt homesick.

Karka had been careful with how she took over the network, giving the chance for robots like Pascal’s to opt out and keep their kind natures intact. As such, machines like the inhabitants of the amusement park retained their personalities, giving the androids a fun place to visit.

Now that Karka was in the bodies of millions of robots, she offered to share the knowledge she had with the others. While it was limited, given how much she had to delete, she remembered how to build an effective spaceship and an enlarged construction foundry. Armed with these tools, the androids were able to rebuild the bunker. Without the need for war, it instead became a center for building larger spacecraft, opening the potential for spreading out through the system.

Without war, and without human masters, the residents of Earth were able to build their own society.

On the coast, near the flooded city, the corpse of Oberon lay, untarnished, unable to rot. The ground around him was charred, and had an odd shimmer to it. Occasionally, small lightning would flash from him, the space around the bolts warped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic fought me to get written, so I might go back and revise the entire thing, but I wanted to get the basic story out there.  
RIP Vasi.


End file.
